Over 1,000 elementary schoolers in Honolulu were allowed to cut class early on Thursday.
Students from Mānoa Elementary and Noelani Elementary filled the bleachers at the second annual field trip game for the Hawai‘i Pacific men's basketball team at the Shark Tank, a noon game that HPU eventually won 74-71 over Menlo.
"It was great," Hawai‘i Pacific men's basketball coach Jesse Nakanishi said afterwards. "I wish we could play 12 o'clock with these kids for every game. It was really fun. They brought the energy and uplifted us a little bit. It's fun having them. We're gonna do this every year."
Despite being indoors, both teams had to endure the elements as a result of the heavy rain and winds across O‘ahu on Thursday. The moisture made its way to the court, causing players to slip numerous times. Despite workers consistently wiping the floor during breaks in the action, players were still visibly affected and frustrated by the circumstances.
After trailing 32-29 at halftime, the Sharks came back to win after Avi Halpert, Charlie Weber and Joshua West scored 16 points each. West, who began his career at Division III Dominican in his native Illinois, surpassed 1,000 career points on Thursday. He also grabbed 11 rebounds to secure a double-double.
West called Thursday's environment "a great motivator. I like the idea of being able to inspire the kids. Not only like entertain them but show them good values like teamwork."
Thursday's contest was yet another community engagement initiative put forth by Nakanishi. Every other Friday, members of the team go to two elementary schools in the area and engage with students as part of the team's "Shark Bites" mentorship program.
"We pretty much go and we have different activities, whether it's reading to them, playing like some brain games, sharing our story to them, it kind of varies on the week," West says, "and then we also spend our last 15 minutes, making sure they're staying active and playing with them at recess. We talk to them about things that are not just basketball, stuff like being focused, being thankful, gratitude, everything.
"It's a blessing and opportunity and something for us to be grateful for, to be able to try and make our mark on the youth and impact them in any way we can."
During Thursday's breaks, kids in the crowd had dance-offs and were also given free candy. A musical chairs competition was also held at halftime.
"They really enjoyed it. They were looking forward to it all week," said Noelani Elementary counselor Ai Yamane. "Some of our students don't get this opportunity with their families to come to college games, so they're really excited. Great experience, and their mentorship program that they do with our kids is awesome as well."
With Thursday's win, Hawai‘i Pacific improved to 10-10 overall in the 2024-2025 season and 5-6 in PacWest Conference play. The Sharks are currently seventh place in the conference standings and need to place at least sixth by the end of its regular season schedule to qualify for the PacWest Tournament in March.
"We've faced a lot of adversity all year but it's been a fun ride with these guys," Nakanishi said. "And I really believe something special is coming."
